What’s up fellow festi-friends? Thought festival season was over did you? Well I just got back from Harvest Music Festival in Northwest Arkansas, and let me tell you that festival season is definitely not over. Harvest Music Festival is a three-day pickin’ party in the mountains, hosted by the Yonder Mountain String Band that happens every year in late October. This year the festival offered music lovers an extra day to get down and arrive early!
It seems like an impossible task to accurately describe what just went down at the beautiful Mulberry Mountain this past weekend. The music, the place, and the people were all so incredible; you really had to be there, but I will do the best I can to take you there if you couldn’t make the trip. I think this is going to take a while so grab a comfy chair and a beverage and settle in for an adventure filled with smiles and stringed instruments.
The drive to Harvest is a beautiful one to say the least. The trees covering the mountains are changing to their fall colors and beautiful patches of reds, yellows, oranges and browns are scattered amongst the thick green. It is easy to see why many choose to live the simple life in the hills of the Ozarks.
We got there Wednesday afternoon and there was no line to get in at all, in fact there were no lines anywhere all weekend, except for maybe the hot chocolate line. The festival was perfect size, not too big, not too small, just right. Derek Trucks of the Tedeschi Trucks Band spoke at the press conference about the greater sense of community that exists at smaller festivals, and that they feel much more connected to the people at the show. Susan Tedeschi then held up a cape she had bought from one of the venders earlier that day and got a huge applause from all the reporters. It was nice to hear someone like her was roaming around shopping at the festival instead of hanging out in her tour bus or hotel.
No matter what kind of music you listen to, this is one festival you don’t want to miss, and bring the kids, because it is definitely a family friendly festival. Just make sure you bring lots of warm clothes and rain gear because the weather is about as unpredictable as the jams in Matt Butler’s Everyone Orchestra. It does get a little cold, but it is a nice change to getting sunburned all day at summer festivals. Woods filled with hiking trails surround Harvest in case you really wanted to get into some nature while you are there.
There are four stages, a main stage with a sound system you can hear from any campsite, two tent stages, and a small stage nestled back in the woods appropriately named “The Backwoods Stage.” Most of the time you will find bluegrass acts on these stages, but there are always a few acts from other music genres including rock, blues, country and this year even an electronic dance act; Beats Antique was thrown in to the mix. I have to give it up to Pipeline Productions and Yonder Mountain for putting on an amazing festival, and, for providing one of the best lineups anyone will ever see at a festival in my opinion. With multiple sets by Yonder Mountain, Greensky Bluegrass, Railroad Earth and Elephant Revival, and, performances by the legendary Les Claypool, and the Tedeschi Trucks Band, what more could one ask for?
It was the perfect mix of bands which in turn brought out the perfect mix of fans. Everyone was super friendly, smiling at one another and saying hi as they passed by one another. And I swear you couldn’t walk by a tent without somebody offering you a cold drink or some food. My neighbor went around Thursday morning and said he was going into to town to grab supplies and was asked everyone if they needed anything. It doesn’t get much more love thy neighbor than that. It was clear right from the start that this was going to be a special weekend.
After we set up camp we headed to the main stage to see the California Honeydrops kick off the festival in style with a nice mix of jazz, blues and gospel jams that were full of horns and harmonies. Then we headed over to the Backwoods Stage to catch The Deadly Gentlemen, a great young bluegrass band that features David Grisman’s grandson, Sam Grisman, on stand-up Bass. Both bands were awesome and I was excited to see they both were playing again on the following day.
Thursday Yonder took a supporting role and gave the headlining honors to Les Claypool’s Duo De Twang, an acoustic act Les does with long-time friend and musician Bryan Kehoe. It was different to see Primus’ front man sitting down playing an intimate fireside show, there was even a fake burning log in front of them for added effect. It was still the same Les Claypool, thumbing and slapping that bass, producing sounds only he can produce, while Brian Kehoe accompanied him with some mean slide licks and a huge beard. It was a great show, and it gave everyone a chance to see the softer side of Les Claypool (it’s not that soft).
After Les was done we ran over to the Harvest tent to see Yonder Mountain String Band’s first show of the weekend, which was late night in the tent rather than on the main stage during normal business hours. Bassist Ben Kaufman said during the press conference ‘they chose to play in the tent to because it is a different show in there, having everyone packed in the tent brings an intimacy and energy that sometimes gets lost on the big stage.’ And boy was it energetic, it was nonstop hard-driving bluegrass that was then taken to an even higher level when Anders Beck from Greensky Bluegrass sat in and played a Dobro (resonator guitar) for most of the set. If you ever get a chance to see Yonder Mountain play with a Dobro or fiddle player, you are in for a treat. We were lucky enough to see both this weekend! Anders commented the next day at the press conference about how he used to see Yonder back in the day in small bar rooms as a fan in Colorado all the time, and how crazy and special it was to play with them nearly 10 years later.
Friday we experienced a little rain, not enough to stop the music like last year, just enough to make everyone cold. Luckily Yonder Mountain played some fast tunes to keep everyone moving and warm; bluegrass calisthenics as they called it.
The rain stopped just in time for the Tedeschi Trucks Band. The cold did not, however, and poor Susan Tedeschi kept blowing on her hands between songs, and later commented that she didn’t know how all the pickers could do it in this weather. Someone then through a hand warmer on stage and she used it. Anyway, the cold did not affect her singing or her playing for that matter one bit, and she sounded great. Such a beautiful, soulful voice backed up by a huge band that included two drum kits, a horn section, backup singers, and, a man who played slide guitar before he could walk (and who is now her husband), Derek Trucks. The combination of talent makes for an unbelievable rock and roll experience every time.
Greensky Bluegrass’ performances were the talk of the town the next day; playing their second show of the weekend, ended this incredible day of music with a late night super jam that went until 3:30 in the morning. I was tired, my back hurt, my feet were soaked and frozen, but I just couldn’t leave this show. When it comes to fast jams, sweet harmonies, and heartfelt covers played like you’ve never heard before, no one can touch these guys. They are leading the way in the jamgrass scene and I am sure we will be going to a festival hosted by them in the near future.
And then just like that, it was Saturday; the last day of the festival. And just like the other days, it was full of great music that was kicked off by excellent performances by Elephant Revival followed by the Steep Canyon Rangers. Both bands bring lots of energy, and their music is radiating with positivity.
Not many electronic acts would fit in at an organic music festival such as this, but Beats Antique’s unique style combining eclectic and world beat sounds with electronic music was a nice change that was welcomed by the predominantly bluegrass crowd. At the press conference members of Beats Antique talked about how Yonder Mountain had a heavy influence on their music, and that they were trying to bring electronic and folk music together, as Yonder did for bluegrass and rock.
Then Railroad Earth played their second show of the weekend, this time on the main stage, and this time very different from the night before. Their music is always jammy and danceable, but mostly in a bluegrass hoedown style. This show had plenty of that feel but also had spacy grooves that were full of bass, which I believe it is best described as disco-grass (I think I just coined a new phrase).
Midway through the set one of the most special moments of the weekend, and possibly festival history, happened when they invited a surprise guest on stage. There had already been some incredible collaborations throughout the weekend, so we all were very excited to see who would walk out on stage. The excitement quickly turned into confusion as they introduced a guy named Ron Landis. “Who is Ron Landis?” Everyone turned and asked their neighbor. Then the confusion turned into nervous tension as they announced that he was the winner of both the mandolin and guitar picking contests, and that he was going sit in and play mandolin with the band for a tune. The crowd was nervous, the band looked nervous, no one knew how this was going to go, except Ron. He killed it and not only had the crowd roaring louder than they had all night, but Ron also had them wiping tears from their eyes as well. Everyone was so happy for him, and by the smiles on the band members’ faces, you could tell the band was happy for Ron, too. It was an emotional experience to see how welcoming Railroad Earth was and how humbly they shared their musical space with a parking lot picker.
Matt Butler’s Everyone Orchestra Experience closed out the weekend in style with an amazing performance. For those that don’t know about Matt Butler, he puts together a super group of players made up of pieces of bands at the festival and leads them through an unrehearsed live improvisational jam session. He also involves the crowd by asking them to sing and clap at times and communicates to them and the band using a small dry-erase board. He sometimes brings friends of his own to join the jam. This time it was Al Shnier, lead guitarist of the historic jam band MOE. Basically it was members of Railroad Earth, Elephant Revival, Jeff Austin from Yonder, Al from MOE, plus a few others playing whatever came to mind. It was as raw as it gets and as good as it gets. The players were on, and the crowd was electric, nobody wanted it to end.
Sadly the show did end, and shortly after, so did the festival. We all woke up to a beautiful, sunny Arkansas morning and began cramming the car full of festival gear for the ride home. The car was full to begin with, and now I had to find room for all my new posters, clothes, and artwork I bought (great shopping at this festival, and it being the end of the season I binged a little bit). No one was in any rush to leave though and many people hung out until late afternoon.
This year’s Harvest Music Festival was a great gathering, and the positive vibes kept flowing as people exchanged phone numbers said their goodbyes. All things considered this was a near perfect festival, with Mother Nature being responsible for any negative marks. Big ups to Pipeline Productions and Yonder Mountain String Band for making this great experience happen; I can’t wait to go back next year!
A quick word about air mattresses before I go, don’t use them! Buy a fold up cot, a backpacker’s pad, or a hammock, or better yet, rent an RV. If you must have one, buy the cheapest one you can find from a place that accepts returns because it won’t last long. I could have gone to a few festivals for the amount of money I spent on air mattresses. Even if it does manage to hold air, you don’t exactly get the best sleep anyways and you will most likely wake up with a sore back. Trust me guys, you make sure your girl has a warm comfortable bed to sleep in for both your sakes, and an air mattress is not the way to go.
Adios Festi-familia, I hope this isn’t the last time I’ll talk to you before next summer. Peace and Joy to All!